REAL TIME OPERATING

SYSTEM

TOPICS OF DISCUSSION.
WHAT IS RTOS.
COMPARISON BETWEEN RTOS AND GENERAL OPERATING
SYSTEMS.
TYPES OF RTOS.
CHARACTERISTICS OF RTOS.
FUNCTIONS OF RTOS.
APPLICATIONS OF RTOS.
EXAMPLE OF SOME RTOS
CONCLUSION.

What is Real Time ?

Real time in operating systems:
The ability of the
operating system to provide a required level of
service in a bounded response time.
- POSIX Standard 1003.1

WHAT IS RTOS.
It responds to inputs immediately(Real-Time).
Here the task is completed within a specified time delay.
In real life situations like controlling traffic signal or a
nuclear reactor or an aircraft,
The operating system has to respond quickly.

What a RTOS is not

Real time computing is equivalent to fast computing.
Real time systems operate in a static environment
Real time programming involves assembly coding, priority
interrupt programming, writing device drivers.

Soft RTOS
In a soft real-time system, it is considered undesirable, but not
catastrophic, if deadlines are occasionally missed.
Also known as best effort systems
Most modern operating systems can serve as the base for a
soft real time systems.
Examples:

multimedia transmission and reception,

networking, telecom (cellular) networks,
web sites and services
computer games.

Hard RTOS
A hard real-time system has time-critical deadlines that must
be met; otherwise a catastrophic system failure can occur.
Absolutely, positively, first time every time
Requires formal verification/guarantees of being to always
meet its hard deadlines (except for fatal errors).
Examples:
air traffic control
vehicle subsystems control
Nuclear power plant control

CHARACTERISTICS OF RTOS.

Consistency
Reliability
Predictability

Scalability
Performance

FUNCTIONS OF RTOS

Task management
Scheduling.
Resource Allocation.
Interrupt Handling.

Task management
In Real Time Applications the Process is called as Task
which takes execution time and occupies memory.
Task management is the process of managing tasks
through its life cycle.

Task States
Pended

Ready

Suspended

Delayed

Run

Task/Process States
Each task/Process can belong to one and only one
state
The Scheduler only operates on the processes in the
Ready state
There is a single process in the Run/current state at
any time.
Transitions to and from the Ready queue are affected
as a part of the execution of the RTOS
resource/object services or as a result of timing
events

Typical Task Operations

creating and deleting tasks,
controlling task scheduling, and
obtaining task information.

Scheduling in RTOS
More information about the tasks are known
No of tasks
Resource Requirements
Release Time
Execution time
Deadlines
Being a more deterministic system better scheduling
algorithms can be devised.

Scheduling Algorithms in RTOS

Clock Driven Scheduling
Weighted Round Robin Scheduling
Priority Scheduling
(Greedy / List / Event Driven)

Scheduling Algorithms in RTOS (contd)

Clock Driven
All parameters about jobs (release time/ execution
time/deadline) known in advance.
Schedule can be computed offline or at some regular time
instances.
Minimal runtime overhead.
Not suitable for many applications.

Scheduling Algorithms in RTOS (contd)

Weighted Round Robin
Jobs scheduled in FIFO manner
Time quantum given to jobs is proportional to its weight
Example use : High speed switching network
QOS guarantee.
Not suitable for precedence constrained jobs.
Job A can run only after Job B. No point in giving time
quantum to Job B before Job A.

Scheduling Algorithms in RTOS (contd)

Priority Scheduling
(Greedy/List/Event Driven)
Processor never left idle when there are ready tasks
Processor allocated to processes according to priorities
Priorities
static
- at design time
Dynamic - at runtime

Priority Scheduling
Earliest Deadline First (EDF)
Process with earliest deadline given highest priority

Least Slack Time First (LSF)

slack = relative deadline execution left

Rate Monotonic Scheduling (RMS)

For periodic tasks
Tasks priority inversely proportional to its period

Resource Allocation in RTOS

Resource Allocation
The issues with scheduling applicable here.
Resources can be allocated in
Weighted Round Robin
Priority Based

Some resources are non preemptible

Example : semaphores

Priority Inversion if priority scheduling is used

Other RTOS issues

Interrupt Latency should be very small
Kernel has to respond to real time events
Interrupts should be disabled for minimum possible time

For embedded applications Kernel Size should be small

Should fit in ROM

Sophisticated features can be removed

No Virtual Memory
No Protection

INTERRUPTS HANDLING OF RTOS.

An interrupt is a signal from a device attached to a computer or
from a program with in a computer that causes the main program
that is operating system to stop and figure out what to do next.

Interrupts cause the processor to suspend the operations

whatever it is doing instead execute the code that will respond to
the event whatever caused the interrupt.

APPLICATIONS OF RTOS.

Almost all the modern telecommunication systems make use of

RTOS .
Radar systems, network switching control systems, satellite
monitoring systems, satellite launch-control and maneuvering
mechanisms, global positioning systems all have their roots in RTOS.
Now a days RTOS are increasingly finding use in strategic and
military operations. These are used in guided missile launching units,
track-and-trace spy satellites, etc.

Comparison of RTOS
VXWorks

pSOS

eCos

Scheduler

Preemptive

Preemptive

Preemptive

Synchronization
mechanism

No condition
variable

POSIX support

Linux

Scalable

Custom hw
support

BSP

BSP

HAL, I/O
package

Kernel size

16KB

VxMP/ VxFusion
(accessories)

PSOS+m kernel

Y/only basic
support (SMP)

Multiprocessor
support

VxWorks
Created by Wind River.
Current Version: VxWorks 6.0
VxWorks is the most established and most widely deployed
device software operating system.
Currently there are more than 300 million devices that are
VxWorks enabled.
The core attributes of VxWorks, include high performance,
reliability, determinism, low latency and scalability.

VxWorks (contd..)
Enhanced error management
Backward compatibility to previous versions features
for exception handling and template support
Extensive POSIX 1003.1, .1b, .1c compatibility
Scheduling
Uses preemptive priority with round robin scheduling to
accommodate for both

Real time processes

Non-real time processes

VxWorks (contd..)
Memory Protection
MMU based memory protection.

Reduced Context Switch time

Saves only those register windows that are actually in use
When a tasks context is restored, only the relevant
register window is restored
To increase response time, it saves the register windows in
a register cache useful for recurring tasks

microkernel
Several types of semaphores
binary,
counting
mutual exclusion with priority inheritance

256 priorities
POSIX compliant

Microkernel features (cont.)

High scalability
Incremental linking and loading of
components
Fast, efficient interrupt and exception
handling
Optimized floating-point support
Dynamic memory management
System clock and timing facilities

A note on POSIX
Portable Operating System
Interface
set of standards under ISO/ IEEE
charter
POSIX standard 1003.1b, (formerly
called 1003.4) for RTOS
makes it easier to move
applications from one operating
system to another.

CONCLUSION.
RTOS have been the heroes in most of the technological
areas, right from fuel injection system to nuclear reactor
control, satellite control, global positioning systems, and
fully equipped high-tech warfare aircrafts. And the best is
yet to come!